The Foreigner
by flyingthoroughbred
Summary: The Trio are starting their sixth year at Hogwarts. Everything is starting out fine, until a mysterious American girl comes to school. Relationships are broken and forged and the Trio must help this young witch to overcome her tragic past and her terribl
1. Nerves

**Hey Peoples! I got this idea for a fanfic when I was writing Ginny's Fall! Let me know what you think of it! Thanks to Lizzy101 for betaing this! **

** flyingthoroughbred**

**Disclaimer: I own all the characters you DON'T recognize! I wish I owned more, but you can't always get what you want! LOL!**

"Come on, Sweetie, time to get up!" Nicole Porticolus yelled up the stairs of their suburban-London house to her sleeping daughter, "You have to catch the train in three hours and I want you to be presentable and have a good breakfast before you go!"

Aureole Porticolus rolled over and groaned. She hated mornings and her mother's morning cheerfulness always seemed to make the situation worse. She heard her mother's footsteps coming up the stairs and finally into the doorway of her room.

"Aura, if you don't get up this minute, I swear I will write to your school and tell them you will be homeschooled instead," she threatened.

Aura quickly jumped out of her bed. As much as she was nervous about going to her new school, the thought of being with her mother twenty-four/seven was even worse.

"There, I'm up," she said to her mother, who was still standing in the doorway, "Can you please go now so I could get dressed?"

"Yes, but breakfast will be ready in forty-five minutes. I want you downstairs by then."

"Yes, ma'am," Aura retorted. Her mother left her room, closing the door behind her. "She really has a lot of issues," she whispered to her snowy owl, Eira, who stood in her cage, waiting to be taken to King's Cross. Aura went to her closet and grabbed the one outfit she had left out of her trunk to wear today. After she was dressed, she went over to her full-length mirror in the middle of her vanity.

She saw a girl of sixteen years, dressed in a red t-shirt with the words "country girl" written in white across her size 38-D breasts, a pair of mediumish-blue jeans, and a pair of white tennis-shoes with red stripes on them. The girl looking back at her was around five-foot, eight-inches, and still growing, with golden-blond hair that changed color with the season and the light shone on it and hazel-green eyes that changed with her mood. She had an hour-glass-figure, that she didn't always like to show off, and was a little overweight, but not enough for the boys not to come crowding around. Aureole sighed as she brushed out her wavy hair. "Why am I cursed with breasts the size of watermelons?" she asked noone in particular, "Most of the guys only want to date me for them, not my personality." She quickly put her brush in the top of her trunk and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she was finished, she went downstairs for breakfast.

She walked into the kitchen to see her father putting the eggs-benedict on their plates. He had cooked her favorite breakfast on her last day at home for eight months. She loved him so much. She didn't love his job, however. It was because of that, that they had had to move to England in the first place, leaving all of her friends and their family back in the Midwest of the United States. She had been perfectly content there. Why did they have to move here? Granted, her father liked it here much better and her mother had already gotten a new job, but she missed her old friends and wished she was going back to her old school instead of to her new one. She wasn't afraid that she wasn't going to make friends, after moving so much she had developed a knack for being able to pick good friends and keep them, it was just that she was tired of having to go to a new school. She had gone to ten different schools in her career as a student and she was tired of it. Why couldn't she have a normal family that stayed in the same house all their lives? Oh, well, she'd just have to live with what God had given her. She sat down at the table with a sigh.

"What's the matter darling?" her father asked her.

"I miss everyone so much," she whined.

"I know, honey, but I'm sure you'll make new friends at school," her mother comforted her.

"I know, mom," she replied.

"Well, then, let's eat our breakfast before it gets cold," her father demanded as he sat down at the table. They all ate and chatted. Aureole's parents kept trying to make her take her mind off of her train trip, but it wasn't working. They finished breakfast and Aureole went to get her stuff. She levitated her new trunk downstairs, careful not to bring it outside.

"I'll take it from here, sweetie," her father told her as he picked up the trunk and brought it out to the car. Her mother came around the corner with her wind-breaker.

"Here, put this on. It's a little chilly outside," her mother commanded. Aura took the coat and put it on. She then went outside to help her dad with the trunk, it looked like he was having trouble getting it to go into the trunk of the car. Once they had gotten the trunk in, Aura grabbed Eira and brought her into the back-seat of the car. Aura climbed in soon after, just as her dad started the car. They drove to King's Cross in silence. They both knew that Aura was nervous and that she really didn't want to talk. They pulled into the parking ramp and parked near the door.

"Wait here while I go and get a luggage cart," her father commanded. He soon returned and they lifted the trunk onto the cart. They walked into King's Cross and were immediately lost. Everything was so rushed. Not like in Union Station in Chicago, where everybody took their time. They had absolutely no clue who to ask where platform 9 ¾ was. That soon changed however, when a group of red-haired people crossed in front of them.

"I don't know how much longer I can take this," the woman who Aureole assumed to be the mother of all of the teenagers called back to her children, "it's always full of muggles! Albus should definitely find a different way to get you children to Hogwarts!"

_'Ah,' _thought Aura,_ 'Now there are three words I recognize! She said muggles, Hogwarts, and isn't the Headmaster Albus Dumbledore?_'

"Mom, Dad," she said, "I think that lady knows where we are supposed to go."

"I think you're right darling," her mom told her. "Ma'am! Ma'am! Exscuse me, but do you know where platform 9 ¾ is?" her mother said as she ran up to the woman, her husband and her daughter close in her wake, "My daughter is going to Hogwarts this year and we have no clue where the platform is!"

"Well!" the red-haired lady said, "I'm Molly Weasley and this is my son Ronald and this is my daughter Ginny." Each of them nodded or waved when she said their names. "Ron is in his sixth year and Ginny is in her fifth year."

"Oh! Please forgive my rudeness!" her mother graciously said, "I'm Nicole Porticolus and this is my husband Stephen and our daughter Aureole. Aureole is in her sixth year too. We just moved here a little over a month ago from the States and she is new to Hogwarts."

"Well, don't worry," Molly told Aureole, "Hogwarts is the finest school in all of Europe! I'm sure you will have loads of fun there!"

"Mum, if we don't hurry up, we're going to miss the train!" the short, good looking girl urgently told Molly.

"Oh! Right!" Molly exclaimed, "Just follow us and we'll show you how to get onto the platform and where it is."

"Thank you so much," Aura's mother said to Molly as they trudged off to the area between platforms 9 and 10.

"You just run at the wall, and you'll pass through and be on the platform," Molly explained. When she saw the shocked look on Aura's face she laughed. "Don't worry, sweetie, you won't crash! Ronald will go first and you can follow him."

"Ummm, okay," Aura said. The tall, gangly boy ran at the wall and disappeared. Aura gaped.

"Okay, now it's your turn," Molly said. Aura squaed up with the wall and took a running start. She almost stopped when she was about to hit the wall, but she remembered what the boy Ronald had done and kept going. To her amazement, she passed through the wall and onto a busy platform in front of a scarlet train. Ginny, Molly, and her parents soon followed her.

"You better hurry up and say your good-byes," Molly advised the awestruck threesome, "The train will be leaving soon."

Aura turned around and hugged and kissed her mom and dad.

"Owl us as soon as you get settled in," her mother told her as she hugged her one last time.

"I will," she promised.

"And do try to stay out of trouble," her dad said as he hugged his daughter.

"I'll try," she promised again. She stood looking at her parents for what seemed like forever, until the train whistle blew and they corralled her onto the train. She stepped onto the train and waved goodbye to her parents. She then turned around and looked down the corridor.

'Well, here it goes,' she thought to herself, 'Another school, another adventure.' And with that, she started walking down the corridor.

So what did you think? Please submit a review by pressing the blurpleish button at the bottom of the screen and tell me whether or not I should continue. Thanks again to Lizzy101 for betaing this story!

**flyingthoroughbred**


	2. On the Train

**Hey Peoples! Thanks to all of my reviewers and thanks especially to Lizzy101 for beta-reading this, even though she sometimes takes forever! LOL! JJK! If any of you are confused as to what year Aureole is being sorted into, it is the sixth year. As for anything else, it should come out in this chapter, that is all so please R&R! **

**So long and thanks for all the fish!**

**flyingthoroughbred**

Aureole had to walk to the end of the train before she could find a compartment that was empty. She sat down next to the window and stared at the scenery whizzing by. She was soon deep in thought.

'_Am I going to make new friends here?' _she thought, finally getting a little worried about her new school_, 'If everyone in my class is like that tall, gangly, carrot-top then I don't think that I am going to be very welcome. What if they have some hazing ritual for newcomers or something, like the colleges in the States! What am I going to have to do before they will even look at me without whispering?'_

'_What are you getting so worked up over?' _the rational part of her brain asked her,_ 'I'm sure that the top wizarding school in the world won't have hazing rituals. That is sooo muggle-like.'_

'_I know, but I can't help but worry,' _her troubled side told her.

'_Stop that!' _her rational part responded_, 'You're going to make yourself throw-up! Just think of this as another adventure, a place to reinvent yourself after the embarrassing incident at your old school! You can create for yourself a whole new identity! Just think of the possibilities!'_

"Excuse me," a voice interrupted her thoughts, "May I sit here? All of the other compartments are full."

Aureole turned to see the owner of the voice. It was a petite female with bushy brown hair, brown eyes, and creamy skin, and she was dressed in an olive green t-shirt, faded blue jeans, and brown, suede clogs.

"Sure, no problem," Aureole answered, motioning to the seat across from her, "No one else is sitting in here. I'm Aureole Porticolus by the way."

"I'm Hermione Granger," the girl answered, "Aureole…that's an English name, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Aura answered, "My mom's English and my dad's American. She got to pick my name. She's really into Old English names. Something about how romantic they sound."

"Well, that explains it," Hermione answered laughingly, "My mum's the same way. If my dad hadn't named me I would've been something like Magdalene."

"I don't really like being called Aureole, so would you please call me Aura?" Aura asked.

"Sure, Aura. Plus, it's a lot easier to pronounce. I was beginning to wonder how long it would take me to pronounce it correctly," Hermione joked, "Hey! Is that Rebel Angels?" she added after noticing the book on Aura's lap.

"Yeah! I didn't think anyone here would know it."

"I've wanted to get that for months! There's a waiting list three miles long! How'd you get it?"

"My mom's best friend is a publisher, and she gave it to me as a sort of housewarming gift."

"You are so lucky! How is it so far? Is there any more mention of that gypsy guy, what's his name?"

"I don't remember, but not yet, but I'm only on the second chapter. If you read this kind of book you must like Tamora Pierce."

"Yeah! She's one of my favorite authors!"

"I know! Mine too!"

The girls continued on like this for about an hour until two boys walked into the cabin.

"There you two are!" Hermione proclaimed.

Aura looked over at the two boys who had just entered the cabin. One of them was the tall, gangly, carrot-topped boy, whose mother had kindly shown her where the platform was, and how to get onto it. '_What is his name? Why can't I remember his name?' she thought to herself, 'Raymond? No. Roald? No. Ronald? Close. Ron! That's it!' _

"Ron, Harry," Hermione said, "This is Aureole Porticolus. She's starting at Hogwarts in our year. She's umm…. Are you muggle born, half-blood, or pure blood?"

"Oh," Aura said, a little embarrassed, "I'm a half-blood; my grandmother was a witch, but my father was a squib and he married a muggle. I guess magic somewhat skipped a generation in my family. Sorry I forgot to mention that before."

"That's alright. Anyway, Ron, Harry, this Aureole Porticolus; Aureole, this is Harry and Ron." Hermione replied indicating both of the boys.

"Hi," Ron said, waving slightly and sitting down next to Hermione.

"Hey," the boy called Harry said, still standing.

Aura looked at him. He had messy black hair that seemed to resist his efforts to smooth it when he ran his hand through it. He had bright green eyes that sparkled with an internal light, but yet showed so much pain, suffering, and loss that she wanted to cry. He was tall: even taller than Aura, by only about an inch. He had a mediumish build and was extremely muscled. As she appraised him, she realized that he was doing the same to her. Blushing she said, "I keep telling Hermione to call me Aura, but she refuses to listen to me."

"That's because you have such a beautiful name!" Hermione said, "Harry, why are you still standing? Sit down! She's not going to bite just because she talks funny."

Harry blushed and sat down next to Aura.

"What do you mean I talk funny? I think it's everyone in this country who talks funny, not me!" she said jokingly.

"Oh whatever!"

"So…Aura. Where did you live before?" Harry asked.

"I lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the States," she answered, "And I went to Aradia School of Magic. It's in Minneapolis."

"Oh! I've heard of that! It's supposed to be the second best school in the world," Hermione squealed. "Only second to Hogwarts itself."

"Speaking of Hogwarts, when will we arrive?" Aura asked Harry.

"In about ten minutes," he answered, "You two better go and get changed."

"Okay," Aura said, grabbing her school robes, as she was pulled after Hermione.

Harry stared after Aura. '_She seems nice,_' he thought 'A_nd intelligent and witty and not worried about anything._'

'_Don't forget gorgeous!_' his gutter-mind yelled at him, '_She's got legs that go on a mile! And those curves!_'

'_Shut up! I don't even know her that well,_' his rational mind told his gutter-mind, '_I shouldn't be thinking thoughts like that!_' Ron's voice broke him out of his trance.

"Harry? Harry!" Ron was yelling at him, "What's with you? You've been staring after them for like three minutes!"

"Huh?" Harry said, "Oh. I guess it's just nice for Hermione to have a friend that's a girl."

"Uh-huh," Ron replied, "And it definitely helps matters when her new best friend is hot!"

"Yeah, I guess," Harry mumbled, his thoughts still on Aureole. "Wait a minute," he said, suddenly confused, "Aren't you dating Hermione?"

"Yeah," Ron said as though his best friend were the stupidest person in the world.

"Then why did you just say that about Aureole!" Harry demanded.

"Wow," Ron stated, leaning back against his seat and changing the subject, "You're starting to like her, aren't you?"

"What!" Harry exclaimed, "No! Why would you think that?"

"Because you are acting exactly like me when I first started falling for Hermione."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"NO I'M NOT!"

"Okay! Okay! Fine, you're not!" Ron replied to Harry's sudden outburst, stifling a laugh. When Ron laughed, Harry leapt on him and wrestled him to the ground.

Hermione pulled Aura down the corridor and into the bathrooms at the other end of the train, and promptly pushed her down on the sofa.

"Do you like him?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Like who?" Aura asked, confused.

"Harry, of course!"

"How am I supposed to like him? I don't even know him!"

"Yes, but you think he's cute right?" Hermione persisted.

"Well, yeah. He is really hot," Aura said cautiously, not knowing how much she could trust her new friend.

"Hah! I knew it!" Hermione screeched, bouncing up and down on the sofa.

"Don't tell him! Okay?" Aura said, suddenly worried that Hermione would tell.

"Fine. But if you don't find that you like him, then you are losing a very good man," Hermione answered.

"Right. I will get to know him and I will tell you when I make my decision, okay? Can we get changed now?" Aura told Hermione. They both got changed and headed back to the compartment. They arrived just in time to gather their stuff.

Aura was reaching for Eira's cage when the train screeched to a halt and she was thrown backwards, straight into Harry. They landed with a thump on the floor. Somehow, Aura had twisted around and was now lying on top of Harry. She looked into his sparkling green eyes and once again was overcome with the amount of hurt, pain, and sorrow they showed for a sixteen year-old boy. Yet she saw something else too, love, intelligence, wit, and strength.

Harry was standing behind Aura waiting for his turn to grab Hedwig's cage when the train suddenly stopped and he was thrown backwards, Aura with him. They landed on the floor with a thud and somehow, she had managed to twist around so that she was lying on top of him, her face only two inches from his. He looked into her eyes and thought that it was like looking into a deep, complex forest. There were so many things there: love, hate, anxiety, nervousness, passion, intelligence, wit and yet there was also something else he thought was odd: a need for secrecy and …fear. It was like she had some deep, dark secret that she needed to keep hidden from the world, a secret so terrible that she could never share it with anyone. And that fear. It wasn't just your ordinary, I'm-scared-I'm-going-to-lose-House-Points fear; it was the deep, angst-ridden kind where you are deeply and mortally afraid. This took him aback. '_Why would she feel that?_' he thought. He didn't have time to look any further though, because she quickly broke eye contact and got up. He also got up. Ron and Hermione were both standing there, looking at them with pleased looks on their faces. He noticed that Aureole had gotten her snowy owl down and that they were all waiting for him to get Hedwig so they could start getting off of the train. He reached up and got Hedwig off of the shelf and they exited the train.

After she saw the softness in his eyes, she noticed that he was looking into hers also. It was fine for a while; she actually liked that they were staring into each other's eyes, but then, all of a sudden, she felt violated, like he had just penetrated into her innermost soul. 'What is he doing?' she thought. 'Oh no! He's found out!' she thought, horrified and embarrassed, but more horrified. She quickly got off of him and grabbed Eira's cage off of the shelf. Hermione and Ron were looking at them with pleased looks on their faces. Hermione caught her eye as Harry reached for his snowy owl's cage. Her look seemed to say, "I told you so!" but Aura ignored it. When Harry had grabbed his owl's cage, they all left the compartment and exited the train.

**So? How was it? Please R&R! **

**flyingthoroughbred**


	3. The Carriage Ride

Hey everyone! Be happy for me! I'm finally over my writer's block! YAY! Anyways, I just have a response to make, and it'll be onto the third chappy!

**To everyone who doesn't like the Aura/Harry ship: I did not write this story to make everyone happy. I am writing it because I want to. I like to know what you guys think, but I will always stick with my own opinions. Don't get me wrong. I love your constructive criticism! **

**Please review when done reading!**

**flyingthoroughbred**

Aureole stepped onto the platform behind Ron and Hermione, closely followed by Harry.

"Put your things there, and they'll be carried up to the school!" Hermione yelled over the suddenly strong wind, pointing towards a line of luggage and pets under the eaves of the station. She looked around to try and get a sense of her new surroundings, but it had just started to rain so heavily that she could barely see Hermione's hunched over figure running for a carriage on what Aura assumed to be the road. She deposited her trunk and Eira in the line Hermione had pointed out to her, and quickly followed Hermione to a carriage.

As she approached the carriage that Hermione, Ron, and Harry had already hurriedly jumped into, she stopped dead. Pulling the carriage was the oddest creature she had ever seen. It looked to be a skeleton-horse. It had the general body shape of a horse, was black, had a long, greasy mane and tail, and was winged, but it was merely skin and bones. She had heard of these things before, she knew, but she couldn't remember what they were called. She stood there, thinking for a minute and then remembered. '_They're thestrals!_' she thought to herself in amazement, '_I can only see them because of….no, I won't think about that. It's no good to remember what happened; it's time to reinvent_ _myself._' She heard Hermione calling to her from inside the carriage and could see all three of them looking at her with expressions of confusion on their faces. She decided that now was not the time to examine the thestral that pulled their carriage, and she walked over to the carriage door and got in, closing the door behind her.

"What was that all about?" Hermione asked her as she got in.

"What was what all about?" Aura answered her.

"You stopping dead in front of the carriage staring at the front of it," Ron stated.

"Oh. Nothing," Aura answered their questioning looks, "I just thought I saw something, that's all." She didn't want to go on, because she didn't want them asking her questions about who she saw die so that she could see the thestrals.

"Well," Hermione told her, "If you're talking about the thestrals, don't worry, Harry can see them too."

"Oh. Yeah, that's what I was talking about. So, you can see them too, Harry? I'm glad I'm not the only one," She said to the carriage, turning to Harry.

Harry had gotten into the carriage right behind Ron, expecting Aura to follow him, but when he turned around, he saw her standing there, staring at the thestrals. He knew personally how scary they could seem when seeing them for the first time, and he wasn't sure if she even knew what they were. After a few moments, a look of utter fear passed over her face and was gone just as soon as it had come, followed by a severe look of determination. _'I wonder what that look was for?_' Harry wondered to himself, '_Could it have anything to do with that secret she is trying to hide from the world? Why is it that she can't tell anybody it? What happened to make her so afraid?_' He continued to wonder until all of a sudden, she seemed to come out of her daze and come into the carriage, sitting down next to him. He was going to ask her if she was okay, but Hermione beat him to it, well, sort of. He kept staring at her, wondering what could make such a strong girl be so afraid, until her voice knocked him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah. I can see them too," Harry responded, not wanting to tell her why he could see them. Changing the subject quickly he asked her, "So what house are you hoping to be sorted into?"

Before Aureole could say anything, Hermione burst out, "I hope you're in Gryffindor! I need a girl my age who I can relate to!" Aureole smiled; she wasn't so sure that when and if Hermione got to know her truly that she would think it would be so easy for her to relate to her.

"I don't really remember anything about the houses," Aura told them, "I read 'Hogwarts A History', but I don't remember much about the different characteristics of the houses. I know there are Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff."

Ron snorted. "I think you and Hermione are the only two in the entire school who have actually read that book cover-to-cover."

"Just because you don't read, Ronald, doesn't mean that we are the only two who have read it!" Hermione retorted, "Anyway, Slytherin…" but before she could finish, Harry cut her off.

"Why don't you just let her listen to the Sorting Hat's song? I don't think she wants to here the entire history of each of the houses in the three minutes we have left until we reach the castle," he told her, smiling as he said it so that she would know that he didn't mean to be cruel.

"Hmpf!" Hermione said, leaning back against the seat.

Aura blushed when Harry had said that to Hermione. "How about some other time?" she asked her, "That way we don't have these two telling us to shut up!" She threw the two boys a mock-glare and laughed.

Hermione laughed too. "You don't know how many times a day I get that from them!" she told Aureole, "It's good to have you here, Aureole!"

"How many times must I tell you to call me Aura!" she retorted, laughing. Just as she said this, their carriage rolled to a stop and Ron opened the door, helping Hermione out. Harry got out next, and Aura followed, tripping on the step. She was caught by a surprisingly strong set of arms, and looked up to see whom her savior was, only to be caught in that emerald, piercing gaze once again.

Harry stepped out of the carriage into the downpour and gusting wind. He was just about to follow Ron and Hermione up to the castle when he heard Aura trip on the step of the carriage. Before he could think, his seeker reflexes kicked in and he caught her, once again looking into her forest green eyes. This time, it didn't take him as long to be able to see the emotions hidden in the depths of them. He immediately felt submerged in their glow and he couldn't help himself from noticing again, that need for secrecy and that morbid fear that he had noticed last time. Just as he thought he might learn something about the need for her secrecy and the cause of her fear, she stood up, letting her arms fall from around his neck.

"Thanks for breaking my fall, again," she said to him, smiling, "It seems that I haven't even started the school year yet, and already I am in your debt!"

"There's no need to repay me," Harry told her, blushing.

"Hmm…noble and handsome! I bet the girls are falling over you!" With that, Aura walked into the castle, leaving Harry to stare after her, bewildered.

Yeah, yeah, I know it sort of sucks, but please go easy on me! This is more of a linking chapter than anything else, so not much is supposed to happen! Please review by pushing that blurple button down there! Thanks to Lizzy101 for beta-reading this for me! LYLAS!

**flyingthoroughbred**


	4. The Sorting

Hello citizens of fanfiction! I know! I know! I haven't updated in forever! I'm finally doing it though! Anyways, I've come up with a really good idea for this chapter and I hope you all like it! I promise that it's longer than the last one! Love you all!

**Flyingthoroughbred (Moonis)**

Aura walked into the Entrance Hall, her long, wavy, blonde hair flowing behind her back because of the wind from outside, her cheeks rosy from the brisk wind, and her eyes sparkling at the delight of finally making it to Hogwarts safe and sound. As she walked in, all talking ceased as the students looked at her, some with disgust and hate and some with awe and wonder, but all with the burning question of "Who is that?" in their eyes. The question soon transferred from their eyes to their lips and, as Aura walked through the crowds searching for Hermione and Ron, they all began to whisper and gossip among themselves.

She had just spotted the pair, when a tall, muscular, blonde boy stepped in front of her, blocking her path. Aura rolled her eyes and looked up into his face. He had striking blue eyes but they were full of malice and deep discontent. "I'm Draco Malfoy," the boy said, holding out his hand, "If you need anyone to show you around or to show you who you should get to know, I'm you're man."

As she studied his face, she realized that his eyes weren't looking at her face but a little lower, around chest height. She rolled her eyes again and glared at him, her eyes becoming the color of deep emeralds. She reached up and tilted his head up. She then let her hand fall back to her side. She crossed her arms and said, "First of all, when you're talking to me look at my face, not at my chest. Second of all, I'm perfectly capable of getting to know people on my own. In fact, I've already made three new friends. Third, if I need help to find where to go in the school I won't ask an imbecile like you, who would jump me as soon as we got into a dark corridor, to help me. I'm not stupid and I'm definitely not weak so don't try to pull your crap on me like you must do with other girls; it won't work." With that, she strode past him, her head held high to join Hermione and Ron, leaving a surprised but smirking Malfoy behind her.

Hermione was laughing when Aura reached her and Ron, and Ron was looking at Aura with a look of pure astonishment and a new found respect on his face. "That was bloody brilliant!" Hermione exclaimed, still laughing. Ron just continued to stare at her. Aura gave him a questioning look and asked, "What? Can't the new girl stand up for herself?" He blushed and told her, "Of course. I just didn't expect it from you." She laughed and replied, "No one ever does." She looked back and saw Harry still standing just inside the doorway, staring at her. She waved him over and it seemed to have some effect on him, because he soon joined them.

They stood around for a few minutes, the whispers and looks constantly buzzing around them about Aura, talking, until they heard Professor McGonnagal clear her throat. She looked down at them and asked them, "Well, why are you all standing out here like a bunch of first years? Shouldn't you be in the Great Hall by now?" The students scurried to do as she said, and filed into the Great Hall.

Aura was talking to Hermione, not paying attention to where she was going, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "You must stay here, Miss Porticolus. You will be sorted after all of the first years in a special ceremony," Professor McGonnagal told her, pulling her out of the crowd.

Aura waved Hermione and the boys on, smiling at them. She turned to Professor McGonnagal and said, "I'm not so sure I like the sound of this special ceremony." Professor McGonnagal smiled down at her and said in a reassuring voice, "Don't worry, dear. It's just that you are the first student we've had come to Hogwarts for the first time who is not in their first year. The only special part of the ceremony is that you will be announced by Professor Dumbledore and sorted after all of the first years have been. I'm sure you'll be able to handle it after all that you managed to succeed in at your school last year." Aura smiled up at her. "I'm sure you're right Professor, but I thought what happened last year was supposed to remain a secret," she said, confused. Professor McGonnagal looked at her as if appraising her. "Surely you must know that the staff had to be told of your…adventures…last year to ensure the safety of the students. I'll explain more later in a private meeting, for I can not say anymore within the ear shot of the first years." Aura looked down the steps at the Entrance Hall floor. The first years were filling it up quickly and they all looked windswept and miserable.

Harry turned back to see Aurora talking to Professor McGonnagall with a confused look on her face. "I wonder what that's all about," he mused out loud.

"Probably the fact that she needs to get sorted, though why they're doing a special ceremony for her is complete lunacy," Ron commented, walking into the Great Hall with the rest of the school.

Hermione rolled her eyes and replied, "The reason they're doing a special ceremony is because she is the first student to transfer into this school in its entire history."

Ron looked at her in disbelief. "Oh come off it, Hermione!" he exclaimed, "There must have been someone else!"

Hermione shook her head, whether at his stupidness or in reply it's not quite clear. "Nope. There was and is no one else besides her," she replied. They walked to the Gryffindor table and sat down, soon deep in discussion about other things.

Albus Dumbledore rose from his seat when the sorting was done and beamed at the congregated students before him. "Welcome to all of the new students here at this splendid school and to all of our old hands, welcome back! There are a few announcements I would like to make before starting our feast. First, Mr. Filch has added a number of items to his list of toys and such not permitted on school grounds. If he finds one or more of these items on your person he has every right to confiscate the item or items for as long a period of time as he deems necessary. Second, first years, please remember that the forest is off limits to you. Finally, I would like to announce that we have a new student joining us this year in the sixth year class. Her name is Aureole Porticolus and she joins our school after moving to England from the United States. I trust that you all will be kind and giving while she adjusts to our school and that you will welcome her as if she is one of your friends. On that note, Miss Porticolus has yet to be sorted, so I ask that you give her and the sorting hat your full attention as she gets sorted. Miss Porticolus, will you please join us?" he addressed the assembled students. Everyone, including the teachers, turned to look at the new girl as the Great Hall doors opened and she walked down the main aisle to where the sorting hat still stood on its stool.

Just as she was about to pick it up and set it on her head, the seam along the brim opened and it began to sing in a low, warning voice.

_Before you put me on, _

_There is something you must know, _

_Turmoil such as this school has never seen, _

_Save once before when the four founders fought, _

_Will come to pass in this year, _

_So keep your friends close to you and let me give you this advice: _

_This is not the time to quarrel or you may pay the price._

Aura stared at the hat for a moment, the whispers rising around her. Her brain moved wildly, jumping from one possibility to the next, but all she could think of was _'It is NOT going to happen again! No matter what I have to do, no harm will come to this school and my new friends!'_

When Dumbledore cleared his throat, the whispering stopped and Aura came out of her trance like state. She reached for the hat and put it on, sitting on the little stool and feeling like a complete idiot.

'Hmmm….great knowledge, a thirst for it too….passion…bravery….enormous power and potential…..a sense of who you are….and yet you are scared too, of who you are to become …..of who you might become,' she heard the sorting hat say in her mind, 'You could do amazing things in Slytherin, my dear girl, wonderful, amazing things…..ahh…but I see that you don't want to be in the proud house….so I must put you in the only other that would fit, just as I did to a young Mr. Potter when he put me on six years ago….'

**"GRYFFINDOR!"** the hat yelled out with such ferocity that Aura almost fell backwards off of the stool. Luckily, she caught herself in time. She stood, taking the hat off and gently placing it back onto its stool. She turned around to see the entire Gryffindor table giving her a standing ovation. She beamed at them and went to sit down between Hermione and Harry and across from Ron.

Okay! So what'd you think! I've given you more teasers in this one and it moves along a little more! I hope you think so too! Please review! Thanks to Lizzy101 for betaing this for me! Love ya chica!

**flyingthoroughbred**


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